Everything Will Turn Out Right
by moyabomb
Summary: Set some time after T&T. Maya and Phoenix decide to become a couple. Things go smoothly for awhile, but being close to Maya means that there's never a dull moment! A bit of FranziskaXAdrian.
1. Chapter 1

It was a snowy Christmas Eve in Kurain Village when Phoenix and his new daughter, Trucy, arrived at the Kurain Manor. They were greeted by their good friends, Maya and Pearl Fey, who had invited them to stay for Christmas and New Years. Phoenix, having just lost his attorney badge a few months ago, needed the time to figure out what to do in his unemployment and accepted the invitation. Lucky for him, Trucy and Pearl took to one another extremely well while he and Maya discussed the situation.

"It's been pretty difficult, not having any much money while raising a daughter," Phoenix sighed heavily.

"Well, it's not like you had to adopt her. Besides, it's all your fault that you volunteered to defend most of your clients for free!" Maya said straightforward into his face. "Come on, Nick, there are other things you can do for money, right? Don't you have some sort of hidden talents that can earn you some quick cash?"

"If I had such a talent, I wouldn't be trying to get some advice outta you, would I?"

"Oh, good point. Why not work here on the manor, or even at Hazakura Temple? I'm sure Bikini wouldn't mind having a guy around, daughter or not!"

Phoenix shook his head. "Nah, I want her to be able to go to school and such. Besides, that would limit the amount of people she can show her new tricks to."

"Nick, you should show her some support in her magic tricks! Even if you get tired of them, you still have to show you appreciate the hard work she puts into them!" Maya yelled disapprovingly in her friend's face.

"That's not what I meant. She's the one that gets tired of showing the same people her tricks. Just the other day she came up to me and said, 'Daddy, can I go to the park to show off my tricks? You're just no fun to show anymore.'"

"…Ouch. She's one tough performer to please."

"Yeah, but I love her all the same," Phoenix smiled broadly. He turned his attention to the two little girls playing in the snow near the Winding Way. Maya's little cousin, Pearl, was in her traditional training garb running around in the snow while Trucy, covered in layers of thick clothing, tried waddling after her with a snowball. Maya and Phoenix laughed when Trucy fell face-first into a pile of snow. She desperately tried to stand up, but only managed to make a snow angel in the powdery snow. Pearl tried to pull her upright, but only ended up planting her butt in more snow. Phoenix chuckled as he helped the two helpless girls to their feet while Maya prepared some hot chocolate for all of them.

"Oh Miss Trucy, there's no way you can catch me if you're all bundled up like that!" Pearl laughed as Phoenix helped his daughter out of her extra layers.

"I can't help it. Daddy said that if I don't wear all these clothes, I'd catch a cold and die and then he'd be sad!" She answered back once her face was freed from the heavy scarf her daddy had wrapped all around her head. She continued shedding her layers as Pearl stood by and watched.

"Wow, I never thought of Mr. Nick to be the fatherly type. Mr. Nick, at this rate, you'll be a prime target for marriage! And I think I know the ideal woman for you!" Pearl beamed.

"Pearly, for the last time, Nick and I don't have that type of relationship," Maya explained as she passed around cups of piping-hot chocolate.

"Then what does my Daddy mean to you?" asked Trucy innocently as she took some hot chocolate.

"He's a good friend who provides me with all the burgers I can eat!" she smiled.

"Why not just ask Santa for a bunch of burgers? That way Daddy's wallet won't suffer so much."

"Oh, that's right, today's Christmas Eve! Trucy, did you already make your letter to Santa?"

"Yup! I brought it with me so that Santa won't drop my present off at our place while we're here. How about you, Pearl?"

Pearl gave Trucy a quizzical look. "Who is Santa?"

Everyone else in the room gave her a look like they were having heart attacks. Pearl looked even more confused. "What's the matter?"

Maya took the challenge of explaining who Santa was. "Well Pearly, Santa Claus is a magical man who flies all over the world giving gifts to all the good little boys and girls. He has magic flying reindeer which pull his sleigh full of toys and finishes delivering presents before the sun rises on Christmas morning. Hey Trucy," she said as she turned to look at Trucy, "why don't you go help Pearly try to write her wish list to Santa?" Trucy nodded, took Pearl's hand and dragged her off to find some paper and pencils, leaving Phoenix and Maya alone in the Meditation Room. Maya takes a seat next to Phoenix, who was swirling his hot chocolate around in his cup, deep in thought.

"D'you know what Trucy wants for Christmas?" he asked Maya quietly. She shook her head in response.

"Well, it's more like, what she's been wanting for awhile now. She's been asking for a new mom, and Santa's pretty much her only hope," Phoenix sighed and took a sip. Maya stood up and walked over to the Winding Way, where she stopped near the entrance to catch a glimpse of the two little girls in the guest room discussing their wish lists. "It must be hard, huh Nick?"

Phoenix looked up and joined her by the entrance, also watching his daughter and her new friend. "Well, there aren't many women who wanna marry a hobo, are there?" he said with a warm smile. Maya switched her gaze over to him, and tried to smile back, but found it rather difficult. She still was not used to seeing him in his trashy clothes, his hair no longer the confident spikes that made him identifiable anywhere they went. She shook herself out of her deep thoughts and answered with, "what if you just became a house husband? You could cook, clean, and take care of the kids!" she chuckled. Phoenix couldn't help but laugh, but also tucked that idea away in a safe corner as a back-up plan.

"Well, if I absolutely needed to marry someone, I guess you could be a back-up if all the eligible bachelors suck," Maya said thoughtfully. "At least I know we get along, after being friends for over three years now."

"Yeah, and Mommy Maya has a nice right to it."

"Hmm, Papa Nick, Mama Maya, and…."

"Aunt Pearl?!" they said in unison. With this, they burst out laughing, catching the attention of the possible "Aunt" Pearl and Trucy, who came running out of the guest room.

"What's so funny?" they both asked.

"Oh, we were just talking about how if Nick and I got married, I'd be Trucy's new mommy and Pearl would become 'Aunt' Pearl!" Maya said while wiping tears from laughing so hard. Trucy's face lit up while Pearl pouted. "I'm too young to be an Auntie!"

"You're never too young to be an Auntie," Nick said as he patted Pearl's head. "There've been cases where aunts and uncles are younger than their nieces and nephews. Lucky for you, you've got a whole year ahead of Trucy."

"Daddy, does that mean that you found me a new mommy?" Trucy asked, excitement in her voice.

"It's just a hypothetical thing, sweetheart," Phoenix told her as he squatted down to her level. "We're not actually gonna get married."

Pearl's face regained some color at her friend's words, glad that she might not become an 'Auntie' after all. But all the same, she really wanted her cousin and friend to get married as much as Trucy did.

"Okay, you two, finish up your letters to Santa and go straight to bed," Maya said once she caught her breath. Trucy nodded. "Okay! C'mon, Auntie Pearl! If we don't sleep early, Santa might skip over us!"

"I'm not your Aunt Pearl!" Pearl growled through gritted teeth as she was pulled away by her potential niece. Phoenix couldn't help flashing a smile.

"I don't think I'd mind giving Trucy an aunt while I'm at it. Can you imagine if they went to the same school and Trucy continued calling Pearls 'Auntie'? How many strange looks do you think they'll get?"

Maya giggled. "Poor Pearly. She's not gonna get out of that one unscathed. But, what if things worked out that way? What if we just pass this on as a joke and then years later, we realize that we were wrong to just poke fun at it. What do you think, Nick?"

Phoenix looked up at the clear sky. "Why not give it a shot?"

"What?"

"At least, if we try, we know that yes, it did or didn't work out. At least we can say, hey, we tried it and we have no regrets whatsoever."

"So, you're serious? You wanna try being a couple?"

He lowered his gaze onto his dear friend. "Yes….I do."

Maya stood there for a second, trying to soak in what she just heard. She lifted her arms to hug Phoenix, and he returned the hug. She then whispered, "Looks like we didn't need Santa to fulfill our wish lists after all."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Phoenix Wright belongs to Capcom

On a cloudy Friday morning in February, Phoenix walked his daughter to school with the intent to meet someone afterward to tell her she can no longer love him. Holding Trucy's hand, he was deep in thought about what he was going to say when Trucy cried out, "Daddy! Slow down! The only way I can keep up with you is if you carry me!"

Phoenix stopped and smiled. "Sorry sweetheart, Daddy's got a lot on his mind."

"Ooh, are you thinking about Mommy Maya?" she said, smirking behind her free hand.

"Trucy, we've talked about this. She's not your mommy just yet."

"I forgot. So, are you thinking about 'Potential' Mommy Maya?"

"Much better. Well, yes, and something else. Do you remember Iris?"

Trucy folded her arms across her chest and looked off in the distance as she thought.

"You mean Mommy Iris?"

"Trucy…"

"Oops, I meant 'Potential' Mommy Iris."

"Yup. I'm going to visit her for a 'serious discussion' while you're in school."

"Boo, how boring."

Just then the school bell rang. Students that were nearby were suddenly running to get to class. Phoenix squat down to his daughter's level and said, "Don't forget, when you get home, we're going to visit Maya and Pearls at Hazakura temple. Maybe they'll let you show their students a trick or two. Are all your things packed for the weekend?"

"Yes Daddy!"

"Good. Now, hurry up or your teacher will scold me again for making you late."

"Okay, have fun visiting 'Potential' Mommy Iris!" she called after her as she ran to class.

Phoenix chuckled to himself. "Heh heh heh, 'Potential' Mommy….where does she get this stuff? I'd better start monitoring the shows she watches."

Once he saw that Trucy was safely inside the school, he stood up and turned toward the direction of the detention center and started up his thoughts on what to say to Iris. As this was happening, a certain German prosecutor prodigy has just arrived at the airport and was adjusting her black miniskirt and silvery-blue hair when a voice spoke from behind her.

"Still perfect as always, Miss von Karma."

Smirking, Franziska spun on her heels to find herself face-to-face with a blonde woman wearing glasses. "Miss Andrews, a von Karma is always perfect no matter what."

Adrian smiled back. "Sooner or later, you'll have to admit that you're not as perfect as you claim to be. Now, what brings you back to the States?"

"Revenge against Mr. Phoenix Wright….and a certain blonde that I cannot seem to get out of my mind," she whispered the second part quietly into Adrian's ear. She then stepped away from Adrian and pulled her whip out of her purse. "But this time, I will get my verdict!" she cracked her whip to accentuate her frustration, causing a number of people to run away frightened.

"Um, Franziska, how about we find your luggage and go find a place to eat?" Adrian suggested with a nervous smile. The other woman nodded.

"I suppose, if it will please you."

"Wonderful. What do you feel like eating?"

Just then the carousel started up, bags falling down the chute to the people waiting below. Franziska watched idly for her bag as she said, "Is there a French restaurant nearby?"

"Yes, there is, but I heard that it's not very—"

"Foolish fools who listen foolishly to the foolishness of other fools! French cuisine is always delectable, unless people here in the United States have no taste!"

People nearby glared at the foreigner. She brandished her whip at them in response, and their group glare dispersed immediately. Adrian took this opportunity to retrieve Franziska's bag from the baggage claim and ushered the whip-wielding woman off to her car.

"Hmph! The nerve of those people! How dare they look at me as though I am an insect!"

"They couldn't help it. You insulted them on their own soil," Adrian reasoned as they pulled out of the parking lot. "Besides, let's focus on the other reason why you're here."

Franziska gripped her left arm with her right hand. "I still don't see what the point is. He's dead, and there's no reason why I should bother him."

Adrian patted Franziska's knee with her hand gently. "It'll be okay. And at the same time, you can tell him that revenge against Mr. Wright is impossible."

The foreigner choked on her friend's words. "What do you mean, revenge against Mr. Phoenix Wright is impossible?!"

"I mean exactly what I said. A few months ago, he was caught using forged evidence and was stripped of his attorney badge for it."

Franziska sat back in her seat, full of disbelief. She had lost her chance to restore honor to the von Karma name.

_That man…he wouldn't dare…but, if he purposely used forged evidence, does that mean that all those cases I had against him were won by forged evidence too?_

Adrian was disturbed at the silence of her passenger. Usually, she would be ranting about people she worked with and whatnot, but the shock must have really caused some damage to her. She took a quick glance at Franziska and saw that she was gripping her arm harder now. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly figured that she was only going to be told to shut up.

"You're learning fast, Miss Andrews."

At the next stop light, Adrian stared blankly at Franziska. Franziska simply continued staring straight ahead.

"You know how to handle me, and you and I have not spent all that much time together. Scruffy was always hanging around me, yet he still understood nothing about me."

Adrian appreciated her words. She smiled broadly and was midway through a "thank you" when suddenly—

"Fool! Keep your eyes on the road, the light is already green!"

She let out a small "eep!" and hit the gas.

...

Phoenix arrived at the detention center and sat down in front of his ex-girlfriend, Iris. Iris was a small young woman with a sweet disposition, and yet, even with her sweetness, she sat before Phoenix behind a bullet-proof glass wall.

"Feenie, how wonderful of you to visit!" she said warmly. Phoenix smiled, but the smile had discomfort written all over it.

"Iris, there's something I have to tell you."

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

Phoenix shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong, but…this is really difficult to say."

Iris placed her hand against the glass in an attempt to give him reassurance. Phoenix placed his own hand against hers. "Tell me, please."

"Iris…you and I…well…"

He let his head droop with a sigh as Iris waited patiently for what he had to say. Without looking at her, he continued to speak.

"Iris, I'm sorry. There's someone else."

She felt her heart breaking silently. "Oh. I see." She lowered her hand from the glass. He did the same thing.

"Is she someone that I know?"

"…it's Maya."

Iris felt her throat tighten. She fought back tears as she struggled to keep her composure. "Mystic Maya…I suppose, it was bound to happen."

Phoenix lifted his head and adjusted his eyes onto hers. "You mean, you knew we were going to…"

She nodded as she raised her hand up to her neck. "You two seemed to have a good connection, especially after you tried to cross that bridge."

He flinched. The memory of trying to cross a flaming, elderly bridge and falling hopelessly into the river below left a deep scar in his mind. He crossed it without thinking properly, his concern more on the fact that a possible murderer was on the other side of that bridge and Maya might already be—

"I didn't realize it then, but Maya is someone very dear to me," he said, cutting off his own dreaded memory. "When we're together, we can just be ourselves without worrying if the other person is having fun or not. We just…click."

There was no stopping the tears. She tried to blink them back, but nothing helped. After letting out a few sobs, she smiled. "Feenie…if you ever found another woman to love, I'm glad that it's Mystic Maya."

Phoenix couldn't believe how accepting she was of his choice. "Iris…"

She shook her head. "No really, from what I've seen, Mystic Maya is truly a wonderful person. Mystic Pearl looks up to her, and she would never do anything to hurt anyone."

"Iris, you don't have to push yourself."

"I'm not. I'm really glad you two are together. I'm sorry, my time is up." She stood up as she wiped away some tears. "You have my blessing, Feenie….Mr. Wright."

"Mr. Wright?" He said quietly as she left the room. The morning was still young, yet already his energy was spent. He figured that cleaning the office would take his mind off of things before heading home to an energetic magician.

...

"That was _not_ French cuisine! What is _wrong_ with this country?!"

Franziska stormed out of the restaurant, whipping anyone she came into contact with. Adrian quickly paid the bill before running after her.

"Franziska, please, wait a minute!"

The angry foreigner spun around and cracked her whip at the ground. "Why should I?! This day has been nothing but one tragedy after another! I just ate sewage, I lost my chance for revenge, I have to explain to my deceased father that I can never restore honor to our name in addition to telling him that I'm in—"

"Franziska, hush…" Adrian embraced her tightly, pressing Franziska's face into her shoulder to keep her from saying anything more. "You say you're having a bad day, but I'm just glad you're here."

Franziska mumbled something into her friend's shoulder. Adrian let her go just enough to speak clearly.

"Foolish fool. It appears that we have switched personalities."

They stood there in the middle of the sidewalk in each other's arms for a few more moments. Then Adrian broke the silence.

"It's that time of the month, isn't it?"

"…yes."

...

Trucy returned home immediately after school let out, only to find the apartment empty. Shrugging, she went to double-check her things when the phone rang.

"Hello, you've called the 'Wright' place, how may I help you?"

"Miss Trucy, it's Pearl!"

Trucy was beside herself. "Hi, Auntie Pearl! What's up?"

"Miss Trucy, please, we are practically the same age, just Pearl is fine!"

"Well then, if I have to call you Pearl, then just Trucy is fine, too!"

"Well, since you're Mystic Maya's lover's daughter, I guess I can call you Trucy."

"And I'll just stick to calling you Auntie!"

"Argh, have it your way, _Miss _Trucy!"

"Gah! Auntie!"

"Miss!"

"Auntie!"

Suddenly, the voice of reason cut from Pearl's end.

"What is the matter with you? All I wanted you to do was call Nick and ask when he and Trucy'd be arriving!"

"I'm sorry, Mystic Maya, but we're having a serious discussion!"

"About what?"

"Oh, I know about serious discussions!" Piped up Trucy. "Daddy said he went to talk to Mommy Iris after he took me to school!"

"Mommy…? Trucy, are you sure—"

"Oh, sorry Potential Mommy Maya, I meant to call her 'Potential' Mommy Iris."

Maya felt an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. _Mommy Iris? Does that mean he's chosen to be with her instead?_

Just then, Phoenix entered the apartment, tired from cleaning his office. He spotted Trucy on the phone.

"Trucy, that better not be Russia on the phone again. Remember what happened last time—"

"No, Daddy! It's Auntie Pearl and Potential Mommy Maya!"

"Oh, well, gimme the phone, then," he said as he snatched the phone away from her.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Nick! Are you coming soon?"

"Yeah, I just got back from cleaning my office. We'll be leaving soon, so we'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay, Mr. Nick!"

"Give Maya my best."

"I will! Bye!"

As Phoenix hung up, Trucy loudly whispered, "Bye, Auntie!" Phoenix laughed.

"Still at it, huh, kiddo?"

She grinned up at his stubbly chin.

"Well, okay, it's time to go. Got your stuff?"

"Right here, Daddy!"

"Mr. Hat's with you, right?"

Trucy hit a switch somewhere on her and out popped a man-sized wooden puppet from behind her pink cape. As the puppet spun out of its cape, it snatched up Trucy's pink, silk top hat and placed it on his own head.

"Ready to go, Mr. Wright!" she made it say while manually moving its mouth.

"Okay then, let's go. Uh, first, you might wanna put him away. I can't afford to pay for an extra ticket."

...

Pearl hung up the phone to tell Maya the good news.

"Mr. Nick says they're about to leave," she said gleefully.

"Really? That's good. What was he doing while waiting for Trucy to get out of school?"

"Oh, he went to visit Miss Iris and then went to clean his office."

Maya couldn't believe what she was hearing. _Nick? Clean his office? Nick hasn't cleaned anything since he lost his badge. And what was this business with 'Mommy' Iris? And why am I only a 'Potential' Mommy? _

Pearl tilted her head at Maya in confusion. "Mystic Maya, is something wrong?"

Maya snapped back to reality. "N-no, everything's all right. Come on, Pearly, we have to make this temple shine before they arrive!" She said with a fake grin.

"Yay! Mr. Nick and Miss Trucy are coming for the weekend!" Pearl cheered as she skipped off to get some cleaning supplies. Maya stayed in the hallway, still contemplating what she had just heard.

_(Wow, what have I done? I'll try to get chapter 3 up as soon as possible. Reviews do help me get more ideas.)_


	3. Chapter 3

"Daddy, look! Cows!"

Trucy was pointing out the window while bouncing on the train seat excitedly. Phoenix sat forward on the seat he shared with her to look at the cows they were speeding by. By this time, the clouds had broken apart, allowing sunlight to shine through. He grinned; somehow, whenever she was happy, it always seemed to make the world brighter. Sitting back in his seat, he watched her stand up on the seat and press her face against the glass.

"Sweetheart, it's not good to put your dirty shoes on the seat," he warned her idly. She glanced at him for a moment and plopped on the seat.

"'Atta girl. Now…hey!" he cried as she removed her shoes and dumped them on the floor. She sprung up from the seat and continued staring out the window in amazement.

_This kid, she just doesn't fail to amaze me, _he thought to himself. _Well, she did do as I said, so I guess that's technically okay._

"Daddy, how much longer till I get to play with Auntie?" Trucy suddenly asked.

"Let's see… probably about an hour."

"Aw, a whole hour? What's there to do till then?"

"You can take a nap. That passes the time quickly," he answered, hoping he would be able to take a break from his daughter's energy.

"Nah, I'm too excited! I've never been to Hakazawa….Hazawaru….Haza—"

"Hazakura Temple. Speaking of which, you'd better get your snow jacket ready. Last time I was there, it was still snowing during this time."

Trucy plopped back onto the seat, still trying to figure out how to say 'Hazakura Temple' even after Phoenix pronounced it for her.

_At least she's kept herself busy, _he thought with a grin. Trucy noticed the sudden grin.

"Daddy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." _Please not the 'where do babies come from' question, _he silently prayed.

"How's Potential Mommy Iris doing? She's always stuck in that strange place, and we can only talk to her if she's behind that invisible wall."

"Well, first off, you can't really call her a 'Potential Mommy' anymore."

"Why not?"

"Well, because Maya is the only 'Potential Mommy' at the moment."

"But, what about Potential Mommy Iris? Why isn't she a Potential Mommy anymore?" Trucy gasped. "Is it because she's gonna be my Official Mommy now? Ooh, Daddy, did you finally find me a mommy?!"

"No, not yet, but that's because—"

Just then, his cell phone rang. He was actually glad for the interruption as he answered it.

"Hello?"

"Phoenix Wright, why are you not in your office?!" was the angry reply.

"Oh, Miss von Karma, are you back in the States? How good to hear from—"

"Enough of the small talk and answer my question! Where are you?!"

"Well, I'm actually on my way to visit Maya at Hazakura Temple."

"I shall meet you there as soon as possible!"

Click!

Phoenix looked at his phone and sighed as he put it back in his pocket. He noticed that Trucy was watching him, her eyes glowing.

"Daddy…is that another potential mommy?"

He sat silent for a moment then threw his head back laughing. "No way, kiddo, there's no way I can give you a woman like that for a mommy," he said as he wiped tears from his eyes.

"Why not? She sounded worried about where you were and seemed to wanna meet you."

"Well, trust me, I'm taking so long to find you a good mommy because I care whether you and her get along or not. And this woman is not a good mommy. Now, I think we both need a nap before we see Potential Mommy Maya and Auntie Pearls."

"Okay, Daddy," she said as she leaned against him with her back. He in turn wrapped his arm around her tummy as she pulled her top hat down over her eyes.

"Daddy?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Trucy."

…

Maya was walking around Hazakura Temple, supposedly inspecting it for cleanliness but really lost in thought about what she had just heard minutes before. Her thoughts were interrupted by Pearl, who ran by wiping down the hard wooden floors with a rag. She quickly snapped back to reality.

"Great job, Pearly, this place is sparkling with your hard work! If you polished the Steel Samurai, he'd blind the Evil Magistrate and vanquish his evil deeds with his blinding shininess of justice!"

"Thanks, Mystic Maya!" Pearl cried out as she passed by a second time. Maya smiled briefly and suddenly remembered that she had a couple of students training at the Inner Temple.

The Inner Temple was a training spot for those training in the Kurain style of spirit channeling. Located on an isolated piece of mountain, the only way to get to it was to cross a long bridge called Dusky Bridge. As Maya approached it, she remembered that Phoenix had tried to cross it a whole year ago when it had caught fire from a lightning strike. Why he did such a thing, she never knew. She knew that he disliked heights, and running across it was one of the last things he ever would want to do, but at the time, the bridge was old and rickety, and on fire all at the same time, which made her wonder even more why he did such a stupid thing.

_I'll just ask him when I get the chance, _she thought to herself as she slowly crossed the newly-rebuilt bridge. As she crossed, she found her thoughts delving back into the phone call from earlier that day. She stopped in the middle of the bridge to gaze upon the sunset. It wasn't its usual golden hue, but a crimson red that spilt over the snow.

…

"I have him now, Adrian! Once we get there, I shall unleash my rage unto him for making us chase after him!"

"Yes, and also we can get Mystic Maya to channel your father for us."

Franziska twitched nervously. She had forgotten that the main reason that she needed to find Phoenix was to ask his assistant Maya to channel Manfred von Karma, a man that Phoenix once faced in court and won against, forever ruining his perfect record of guilty verdicts. At the same time, he revealed that Manfred was the murderer to an unsolved case almost twenty years ago, and that was what granted the death penalty to Manfred. It was from his defeat that Franziska decided to come to the States to do battle against Phoenix in court, and each time, she failed miserably.

"I still do not see why I have to tell him about our situation," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "We were never really that close. He was never around when I became a prosecutor at thirteen, and even before that while I was growing up he was always immersing himself in his work."

"I just thought that maybe it would be nice if he knew what made you happy," Adrian replied, staring at the ceiling as she fiddled with the small orange booklet in her hand. Franziska sat staring at the booklet.

"I've wondered this for a while now: what is in that little orange book that you constantly carry around with you?"

Adrian looked back at her companion. "What, this? Actually, it's schedules for my work. It helps me plan out—no, don't look!"

Franziska snatched the booklet out from Adrian's fingers and sat on her lap to keep her from retrieving the book.

"What is this? 'How long had it been since we were together like this? Her face close to mine, the sweet scent of her breath invaded my nose. She forced me to the floor and ran her hand up my th—'"

Adrian shoved Franziska off her lap and pinned her to the floor of the train's small compartment. Franziska smirked.

"So, merely writing trashy novels is not enough for you? You have to act out what you have written as well?"

The blonde woman was struck with panic. No one was supposed to look at those private words, and least of all was the woman she was sitting on top of. "Um, well you see…"

"Now, according to what's written," Franziska maneuvered so quickly that Adrian was in a daze and found herself to be the one pinned down, "the other woman forced the narrator to the floor and…"

…

Phoenix and Trucy finally arrived at Hazakura Temple. The whole place was blanketed with snow, and dark clouds were inching their way across the sky, possibly to dump more snow on the old temple. The sun was at its last few moments before fully setting, and the air got colder in merely seconds. Trucy was running around the snow wearing a thick jacket under her pink magician's cloak until a tiny, plump woman wearing the garb of a Kurain medium approached them.

"Mr. Wright! How nice of you to visit!" she said jovially. She shifted her attention to Trucy. "And this must be your daughter! I've heard so much about you, Miss Trucy!"

"Oh no, Auntie Pearl told you to call me 'Miss' too? Just Trucy's fine!" Trucy pouted.

Phoenix chuckled. "Bikini, good to see that you're still as jolly as ever. How's your back been treating you? Any new students?"

"Oh, my back's been acting up with this old age and freezing weather! Mystic Pearl's the one that's been cleaning the whole temple all by herself while Mystic Maya's been watching over the new students' training," she answered as she led them into the temple. "By the way, Mr. Wright, what's with the new look? You could pass for homeless with that get-up."

"Haha. Well, this is actually a lot more comfy than that suit was. Besides, Trucy's been helping to put food on the table," he answered as he lifted his daughter's hat from her head and ruffled her hair.

"You make her work? But, she's just a child!"

"Nah, when I say that she's helping to put food on the table, I mean that she cooks."

"Amazing, so young yet you can cook? You'll be a great wife someday!" Bikini marveled at Trucy, who returned an embarrassed smile.

The temple was as grand as Phoenix remembered it to be. Only, this time, it was shinier, and looked like a full-on makeover had occurred. The walls kept the cold out a lot better, and the place sparkled brilliantly with the simple candles that littered the place. They passed through a hallway where they found Pearl waxing the floor.

"By golly Pearls, don't tell me you did all this yourself!" Phoenix said in disbelief. His words startled Pearl briefly, but upon seeing his stubbly face, she ran up to him with a squeal and a hug.

"Mr. Nick, Miss Trucy! You two are very late!" she scolded them as she hugged them both. "What took so long?"

"I told you, I was cleaning my office. I felt bad that I had to come back to it as messy as it was once this visit was over."

"You mean you didn't lie?"

Trucy stepped in. "Of course he didn't lie, _Auntie!_ If he did lie, I would be the first to know!"

"Okay, you two, before this turns into an all-out war, where's Maya?" Phoenix quickly asked.

"Mystic Maya is at the Inner Temple, watching over the training of the new students," Pearl replied. Suddenly she was blushing. "Are you finally going to propose to her?"

"Now now, Mystic Pearl, why don't you take Trucy to your room to play while I have a chat with Mr. Wright?" Bikini interrupted for Phoenix's sake. Pearl was about to say something, but Trucy beat her to it.

"Daddy, have you finally found me a new mommy?!

"Sweetie, I've told you on the train: no I haven't. Now, go play with Auntie Pearl."

"I'm not your Auntie!" Pearl protested as Trucy dragged her off to some other part of the temple. As soon as they were out of earshot, Bikini turned to face Phoenix.

"Mr. Wright, there is a tradition that we do here with all the men that try to marry into the Fey family. And first, please hand me your Magatama," she said softly, her tone suddenly deep with no hint of the joviality from before.

Phoenix took out a small pendant that was shaped like a comma with a hole in the middle. He reluctantly handed it over to Bikini, who ran her hand over the little, glowing, green stone. She placed her eyes back onto his.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Okay then. Do you truly love Mystic Maya?"

"Actually…."

Just then, the scene around them faded to black. Phoenix stood before her with a number of chains surrounding him, two giant red locks holding the secret in his heart dearly.

"How many locks?"

"Just two. Now, tell me if you truly love her."

"Can we take this somewhere a little more private?"

The locks and the chains faded away as Bikini stopped the power of the Magatama. Slowly the snowy scenery returned to normal.

"The most private place would be Heavenly Hall at this point."

"Heavenly Hall? That's twenty minutes away on foot! I don't like the idea of leaving Pearls and Trucy alone like that!"

"Well, we could use the snowmobile to make the travel time shorter. Oh, what have we here?"

Just then, two women were approaching the main gate. The silvery-blue-haired one was carrying a whip while the blonde one was trying to keep up while half dragging, half carrying some luggage. Once she was close enough, the whipping woman cracked her whip at Phoenix's stubbly face.

CRACK!

"Phoenix Wright, I have finally caught up to you!" Franziska growled while breathing heavily. Adrian finally caught up to her, breathing just as hard and shivering from the cold. The walk from the train station to the temple was an upward hike into freezing mountains.

"Miss von Karma, and Miss Andrews! How wonderful to see you two again," Phoenix said, rubbing his jaw where the whip had bit him. Franziska cracked her whip at his feet.

"I am here to inquire you as to why you forfeited your badge!"

"Oh, well, I didn't forfeit it, it just kinda happened. Is that all you wanted to ask me?"

"No!" Franziska grabbed him roughly by his sweatshirt and pulled his face down to hers. "Because of your foolish mistake, I can no longer get my revenge! I'll make you pay for your foolishness!"

She pushed him away and was about to use her whip once again on him, but Adrian stopped her as Bikini laughed heartily.

"Mr. Wright, how nice of you to invite friends to join us! Now, I know you are Miss von Karma, you were here last year, but I am not familiar with you, Miss…?"

"Adrian Andrews. I met Mr. Wright two years ago. He helped me out in court once," Adrian said, still holding onto Franziska's wrists.

"Ah, I see. Mr. Wright, you certainly have made a lot of 'friends', if you know what I mean," Bikini elbowed him in the ribs playfully. "Come, let's get inside, it's freezing! Mr. Wright, I'll meet you at Heavenly Hall in a few minutes. We'll continue our talk there. Oh, but I'll be the one taking the snowmobile, if you will," she said quickly as he headed toward his destination. She then led the two freezing women inside the temple to an unoccupied room and prepared some tea to warm them up.

"Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Bikini asked warmly.

"Franziska wishes to contact her deceased father," Adrian answered quickly, earning her a death glare from her companion.

"I see. Right now Mystic Maya is watching over some students, but I can let you see Mystic Pearl instead."

"That's fine. As long as we can contact him," Adrian said with a smile. Franziska was gripping her tea cup angrily.

"Alright then, I shall return with her. Please wait a moment," Bikini said as she left the room. Franziska put her cup down and cracked her whip at Adrian.

"I refuse to…I will not…"

"Franziska, please do this for me. If there's anything I ever wanted from you, it's this one thing."

"But why?"

Adrian stuck her face close to Franziska's. "I want to know how much you love me. I want to know what you are willing to do to prove to me that you love me."

Franziska gritted her teeth. _This woman is more trouble than I imagined. Yet, I can't help but—_

Just then, Bikini arrived with two little girls. Pearl cheered happily as she saw Adrian.

"Miss Andrews! Wow, I haven't seen you in awhile!"

"Hello, Pearl. You seem well."

"Thanks! Everything's been going really well lately."

"Aw, how wonderful!" She switched her view over to the other little girl dressed like a pink magician. "And who might this be? Are you a magician?"

Trucy nodded excitedly. "Yeah! I'm Trucy, and when I grow up I wanna be a magician! Are you friends of my Daddy? Does that mean that you two are Potential Mommies too? Was that you on the phone earlier with Daddy? What kind of—"

"I'm sorry, who's you're Daddy?" Adrian asked, overwhelmed by the barrage of questions the little girl was firing at her.

"My Daddy, Phoenix Wright! And that makes me Trucy Wright! We run the Wright Talent Agency back at home. Wanna see a magic trick?"

"Oh, ho, ho, Trucy dear, they're here because they want to contact someone with Mystic Pearl's help," Bikini cut Trucy off before things got too out of hand. Trucy complied by covering her mouth with both her hands.

"Okay, now that that's settled, how about we all go to the main hall for the channeling. Mystic Pearl, are you prepared to channel a spirit?"

"Yes, Sister Bikini! Wow, as my first customers, I promise to do my best!"

They all headed for the main hall, Trucy still jabbering off questions for Adrian and Franziska. Franziska ignored everything the little girl asked, looking sicker and sicker with each step toward the main hall.

…

Phoenix made it to Dusky Bridge. He stared at the bridge with bitter memories flooding his mind as he wandered down the path to the left of the bridge for Heavenly Hall. The small shack at the end of the path reminded him of his friend, Larry, who unexpected was staying there training as an artist a year ago. He walked toward the edge of the cliff near the shack and gazed at the water below, remembering his painful tumble down into Eagle River. _How did I survive_? He always wondered that to himself.

Snow had started to fall when he realized it was time to practice his answers for his interview. He was well aware that he should choose his words carefully, for this technique helped him in court a number of times. He took a deep breath of frosty air and started his monologue.

"Why do I love Maya? Simple: Trucy needs a new mommy, and she's a prime candidate for being just the mommy she needs! And I'm sure she's a tiger in be—"

He shook his head disapprovingly at his own answer. _That answer just now isn't appropriate for even a bad joke. What'm I gonna do? _

He then went back to his old habit of consulting his old mentor and friend, who also happened to be Maya's older sister.

"Well Chief, what can I say? I've never felt this torn up over anything before, except the Matt Engarde case. But this is nothing like that. On one hand, I love Maya. She's so energetic, and loving, and she connects with everyone well. And all those adventures we've had, investigating crime scenes and having to prove her innocence when everyone thought she murdered you. And on the other hand, there's Iris. Even after I lost my badge, she never saw me differently. After years of not seeing her, she still cared about me, and even lent me her hood for protection from evil spirits last year. Well Mia, what do you think?"

He then laughed to himself. "Why am I asking what you think? Of course you'd want me to choose Maya. If there's no point in asking you, then..."

Just then, Maya crossed the bridge to return to the temple to check on things. She spotted Phoenix standing near the cliff below the bridge and was about to call out to him when—

"DAMMIT, WHAT THE HELL DO I DO?!"

Maya had never heard Phoenix cry out like that. His words echoed off the walls of the mountains and lodged themselves into her mind. _What he is talking about?_ She crossed the rest of the bridge and down the path to Heavenly Hall and hid behind a tree, listening in to what he was saying.

"I don't know what to do…part of me says 'go with Maya' while the other says 'Iris is the right choice' but I don't know. I do love Maya, without a doubt—"

Maya touched her hand to her heart. She was about to run up and hug him from behind when suddenly—

"—but I still have feelings for Iris…"

…

The main hall was dimly lit with a number of candles. Pearl sat in front of a gigantic Magatama at the front of the room facing Franziska and Adrian, who were sitting side-by-side. Bikini sat off to the side with Trucy next to her. She figured that Phoenix could stand the cold to further his love for Maya. Besides, she needed to be nearby to watch over Pearl. If the spirit was too strong for Pearl, she would be nearby to perform the Spirit Severing Technique.

"Shall we begin?" Pearl asked nervously. Adrian nodded her head and took Franziska's hand. "Okay, first I need to know the name of the person you wish to contact."

"M-Manfred von Karma," Franziska said hesitantly. Adrian patted her hand in reassurance.

"Alright, please close your eyes while I try to contact him."

The three closed their eyes while Pearl concentrated on the name. Suddenly, her body began to transform into an elderly man with a cruel, twisted face. The acolyte garb she wore ripped wherever there needed to be more space. The man opened his eyes and looked around the room, then let his eyes rest on Franziska.

"You, daughter, why have you brought me back?" he said in his deep, rumbling, growl of a voice. Franziska shuddered in fear. Adrian had never seen Franziska so frightened before in her life. She squeezed her hand tightly for encouragement.

"F-father, there is something I want to tell you."

"Then hurry it up. You have ten seconds to do so."

"Father…" Franziska looked at Adrian's reassuring face, then looked Manfred straight in the eyes and said, "I am in love with this woman, and she makes me far happier than anything I have ever accomplished in all my years of being a prosecutor. The long nights I have spent alone with nothing but cases are much easier to handle when Adrian is around to support me, and she has supported me more than—"

"Hmph. Is that so?" Manfred shook his finger at his daughter with a twisted smile. "Why would I care for something pathetic like love? Your mother and I never truly loved each other, and we were perfectly happy with that. She was merely a vessel to produce perfect children to continue to perfect name of von Karma, but now I see that she failed me when you came out."

Adrian was frozen, not with the cold outside, but with the harshness of that man's words. A sharp sniffle on her right snapped her head to look at a shattered Franziska, who broke down completely and put her hands up to cover her face in shame. Adrian moved closer to her and wrapped her arms around her from behind, pressing her cheek against Franziska's head. She shot a look at Manfred, baring her teeth.

"Is that what you think of her? A failure? How could you, as her father, call her something so horrible!" she cried, tears welling up in her own eyes. Manfred smirked devilishly at her.

"Woman, you have no right to question me. I raised her as best as I could, and she came out as a failure as you can see. Look at her, her façade has completely left her, and all you see is a person who is weak and cannot take care of herself. There is no room for such people in the von Karma family!" he howled.

"If you're so perfect, why couldn't you defeat Phoenix Wright in court?!"

Her words stopped Manfred cold. His smirk dissolved into a look of disbelief. Off to the side, Trucy was silenty cheering to herself when she heard her daddy's name.

"Phoenix….Wright...PHOENIX WRIGHT! I SHALL HAVE MY REVENGE!"

"There's no way you can get your revenge now! He's no longer a defense attorney! He lost his badge months ago, before you were put to death!"

Manfred let out a blood-curdling scream that rattled the old building. Bikini stood up to perform the Spirit Severing Technique, but Manfred got up and knocked her away easily. He looked at his fallen daughter and wrapped his fingers around her throat, lifting her up to his face.

"You…you have shamed our name. You no longer deserve to be a von Karma!"

He cast her aside easily, her slender frame colliding with the giant Magatama. Adrian stood up to face him, but he hit her with the back of his hand like she was a simple fly. He then eyed the little girl on the side of the room who was trying to revive Bikini.

"You, girl! Where can I find Phoenix Wright?" he boomed over her. Trucy had never been so frightened in her life. Seeing her friend transformed into a horrible, violent demon terrified her so badly all she could do was cry hysterically. Manfred stomped off, muttering "useless" as he left the room. He then spotted footprints near the main gate, and saw the snowmobile nearby. Smirking to himself, he took the snowmobile when he noticed that his clothes were torn from being far too small to house his large body. What did he care when he was only borrowing the tiny body for a moment, just until he could exact his revenge on the man who ruined his life.

…

Maya continued to watch Phoenix's inner struggle while struggling with her own feelings.

_Nick…do you truly feel so torn that you'd be in so much pain over this? Have I come between you and someone dear to you? What about all those good times we had, investigating crime scenes, going out for burgers, and all those adventures we've had. And, what about when you tried to cross the bridge? Wasn't that because—_

"Hey, Nick! What're ya doing here?"

Phoenix whirled around and found his friend Larry Butz dressed in acolyte clothing. Even with his strange clothing, he still maintained his messy brown hair and his little goatee, not to mention his laid-back personality. Next to him stood another friend, Maggey Byrde, who was also dressed like she was in some sort of training. Last time Phoenix saw her, she was wearing a bright orange maid outfit and waiting tables at a French restaurant that served sewage that was pretending to be food. Her black hair was short with clips in her bangs and she wore thin-wired glasses.

"Wha, you two? Larry, Maggey, why are you—"

"Mr. Wright! Are you here for training too?"

"No, I'm visiting Maya, but I thought you were a waitress and he was trying to be an artist!"

"Well, after I lost my mentor I kinda had nothing else to go on," he replied with a goofy smile and a thumbs-up. "But then I thought 'why not try to find work here?' They always need people to maintain the old buildings, and I thought I'd be good for the job!"

"Yeah, but why the training?"

"Well, they said it would help cleanse my soul, or something."

"Oh. Well, how about you, Maggey? How's the detective?"

"Oh, well, Dick and I are getting along just fine. We got married last month and now we're actually expecting our first child in the fall!" she said, flashing a huge grin. "You should see him, he's always running around trying to do things for me that he's stressing himself out so much! I thought I'd come here for some peace and so that he could focus more on his work, but he won't stop calling me on my cell."

"Wow, you're expecting already? Congratulations!" Phoenix hugged Maggey to congratulate her when he heard the sound of the snowmobile.

"Uh oh, you two better get going. Bikini's interviewing me as a suitable bachelor for Maya," he said as he let go of Maggey.

"Whoa, no way! Really?! Dude, you gotta tell me how that goes! Good luck!" Larry said as he and Maggey started walking away. They stopped dead in their tracks as they saw the snowmobile speed toward them.

"Nick! Look out!"

Manfred aimed the snowmobile at Phoenix while growling "Phoenix Wright!" Phoenix had no time to react. All he saw were the headlights of the snowmobile blinding him, and a shrill scream that came from nearby. A small figured shot from among the trees and shoved him out of the way. He couldn't see anything, all he could do was flail his arms about in the hopes of grasping onto something…anything…

His fingers found the edge of the cliff and he clung for dear life as the snow mobile sailed past him without a rider. He heard a loud splash as it fell into the river. Then a voice faintly called to him.

"…Nick…"

He looked down to see Maya holding tightly onto his ankle.

"Maya! Where'd you—"

The clouds parted slightly allowing moonlight to wash over them. He saw a flash of red on Maya's back.

"Maya! You're hurt! Come on, take my hand, I'll—"

"Nick, it's okay. I don't want to get between you and Iris," she said weakly. She smiled up at him as she said this.

"No, Maya, please, don't—"

"Nick…I love you…"

He felt her grip slacken, and saw her shrink before him. She plunged down into the icy river that he had barely survived the year before.

"MAYA!"


	4. Chapter 4

Mia Fey opened her eyes slowly. She was floating down Eagle River on her back, her body aching and shivering from the cold water. She didn't understand how she got there, or why she was even there, let alone why her body hurt so much.

Then it hit her—Maya. She heard Maya's plea for help as she fell from the cliff.

"Sis…help me…" she whispered before impact. As she said this, Mia had been channeled as her last hope for survival.

Most of Maya's physical features remained the same, except that now she was taller, her clothes didn't fit quite as well, her face was that of Mia's, and her bust was struggling to free itself from the acolyte robes.

Determined to give her younger sister a chance to live, Mia forced herself to move toward the side of the river, but found that her right shoulder was in immense pain--Maya had dislocated her shoulder when she hit the water. Gritting her teeth, she used her remaining arm and both legs to move her toward the side of the river, eventually able to cling onto a piece of tree root sticking out of the ground. She fought against the current as she used her good arm to pull her up and out of the water while her legs lifted her onto the soft grass.

She must have been drifting for awhile. There was no snow anywhere, and she didn't recognize anything around her. Mia lay on her back, gasping for breath and staring up into the clear sky. Just then a gentle breeze flew past her, causing her to shiver violently. She looked up at the stars, feeling like they were mocking her. They twinkled merrily up in the heavens while she was down in her frozen hell.

Growing frustrated, she forced herself to stand up to find someplace for warmth. Not too far from the river was an old tree that looked like the life was sucked right out of it. She began to trudge towards it, hoping to lean against it for warmth. Once in awhile she would stumble, her knees bruising with each fall. She tucked her injured arm into her garb above the belt. Gawd it hurt.

With each step she began to feel lightheaded. Her vision went in and out of focus, and as she turned around to see how far she had walked she noticed the bloody trail behind her. A large diagonal slash across her back was bleeding freely. The only thing she felt she could do was remove the dark purple jacket of her acolyte garb and tie it over her wound to keep from losing any more blood. Once she secured her makeshift bandage, Mia continued to trudge along until she reached the old tree. She leaned against it with her back, pressing her wound to keep more blood from escaping her. Sliding down the trunk into a sitting position, she stared back up at the stars. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Maya…I'm sorry. I couldn't save you, not this time."

As she said this, a shooting star streaked across the sky. Mia smiled.

"Phoenix…I wish you happiness. I pray that everything will turn out right…"

She shut her eyes. A light breeze whisked her spirit away with its gentle kiss.

…

Phoenix was dangling from the cliff with one hand, his other hand outstretched toward the spot where Maya had fallen. His mouth remained wide open from calling out Maya's name, his mind racing with panic. Up above him, Larry was trying to pull him back onto solid ground.

"Nick! Gimme your other hand!" he yelled as he reached down to his friend. His voice called Phoenix back into reality, causing him to frantically call out to Maya again.

"Dammit, Nick! You first, then we'll help Maya!"

"No! She's hurt! There's no way she could've survived that fall!"

"You did when _you_ fell!"

"But…"

Once he regained control, Larry was able to pull Phoenix over the edge. Breathing hard, Phoenix was staring at the ground, deep in thought.

_I survived the fall, sure, _he thought, _but I wasn't injured like she was. And why did she say she didn't wanna come between me and Iris? I broke up with her, didn't I? Unless she—_

"Search and rescue are on their way, and police are coming to investigate," Maggey said as she approached the two men. Even with the help of rescue teams, Phoenix still didn't feel at ease.

"Hey, what's that?" Larry pointed out a small figure lying in the snow. As they neared the figure, Phoenix gasped.

"Pearls?" He knelt by her side, eyeing the shredded remains of her acolyte garb. He removed his own sweatshirt and put it on her little shivering body, then picked her up and turned to his friends.

"If Pearls is out here, then something must've happened at the temple," he said, his voice low and afraid. A thought struck him. "Trucy…"

The three adults trotted back to the temple, Phoenix leading the way. _But what was Pearls doing out here? And how did her clothes get this way? And who was it that was driving the snowmobile?_ The questions he deemed more important to him revolved around Maya. _Is she alright? Why did she say what she said before she fell? Is there any hope of her even being alive? _That last question shook him up. He decided to leave finding Maya in the rescue teams' hands while he focused on the troubles before him. But he couldn't help but say a silent prayer to himself.

_Chief, watch over Maya. I'm not ready to lose her._

_Phoenix…_

An image flashed into his mind just then. The figure of a woman with long, brown hair and a gentle smile spoke to him as she did before when he desperately needed her help in court.

_Don't tell me how you feel. Maya's the one who needs to know…_

He nodded. He sped up his trot to a sprint with Pearl bouncing roughly in his arms, leaving Maggey and Larry to try to catch up to him.

…

When they arrived at the temple they found Trucy sitting next to an unconscious Bikini while Adrian was trying to revive a fallen Franziska.

"What happened here?" Phoenix asked as he put Pearl down near Bikini. He scooped a tearful Trucy up into her arms, trying to calm her down. Adrian looked up at him.

"Mr. Wright, I…I'm sorry, it's all my fault," she said as she looked away. "I wanted Franziska to tell her father that we were together and that he was no longer an important part of her life, but then—"

"Wait, you channeled Manfred von Karma?" he demanded, his face turning red.

"Yes. I'm sorry! I didn't know that Mystic Pearl would be overpowered so easily!"

"But she's a little girl! Manfred is the equivalent of a demon!"

"Daddy, s-s-stop shouting," Trucy sobbed in his shoulder. "It's n-n-not fair that Mommy Frannie d-didn't get a n-n-nice d-daddy like you are."

Phoenix looked at his daughter in earnest. The last thing he ever wanted to do to Trucy was make her sad. He embraced her tightly.

"Truce, sweetheart, I'm sorry. And Miss Andrews," he said as he turned to face Adrian, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"No, it's okay. What's happened? Where's Mystic Maya?"

Phoenix felt like a knife had stabbed him in the gut. "She fell into the river. Someone took the snowmobile and tried to hit me with it, but she shoved me out of the way and she fell."

"No…is she alright?"

He shook his head. "We don't know. Search and rescue are supposed to be on their way, and all I know is that she had a large gash on her back. I think the snowmobile might have hit her when she pushed me."

Just then Larry and Maggey entered the main hall, gasping for breath.

"Dude, why didn't you go out for the track team in junior high?" Larry asked. Phoenix gave him an embarrassed smile. Maggey straighted up once she caught her breath.

"Mr. Wright, the police are waiting outside," she reported. Phoenix nodded to her and put Trucy down. He squat down to her level as he pat her head.

"Trucy, I have to go with Uncle Larry and Aunt Maggey to find Maya, okay? I need you to stay here and cheer people up," he said calmly while his heart beat quickly in his chest. Trucy wiped her tears away and hugged him with a smile. Phoenix stood up and turned to leave the room when someone stopped him.

"She won't last, Phoenix."

He spun around, angry at the haunting words until he saw who spoke. Mia stood before him in Pearl's body, and if it hadn't been for Phoenix's sweatshirt, everyone would've seen the world and all its endeavors in the blink of an eye.

"Mia…why would you say that?! She's your sister!" he shouted, his face turning bright red with rage.

"I was just with her. She's badly hurt, and she's lost the will to live."

Phoenix froze. _What's that supposed to mean? That doesn't sound like Maya at all._

"Mia, what—"

"You have to find her, Phoenix, and it would help if you were the one to find her first."

She walked over to Bikini and took the Magatama she had used on Phoenix not too long ago. She strode over to Phoenix, took his hand, and forced it into his palm. Phoenix closed his fingers around the small stone tightly, as though he was trying to absorb it into his hand. He stared hard into the ground, fighting a losing war against his own tears.

"How bad is she hurt?"

"She dislocated her shoulder when she hit the water, and she has a large cut across her back. She must've lost a lot of blood from the river, and she's probably suffering from hypothermia right now. I left her next to a tree, but I don't know how far down the river she drifted. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Phoenix, only you can bring her back."

"But, how'm I supposed to find her? The helicopters have a better chance of finding her, and—"

"The answer's there. Don't concentrate so hard on what's in the box, but what's outside it. You were once an ace attorney, Phoenix. Even without the badge, there's just one thing you have to remember," she moved her hand from his shoulder to his cheek, raising his gaze from the ground to her eyes. "The only time a lawyer can cry…is when it's all over."

She wiped away his tears for him and wandered over to Trucy, resting her hands on her shoulders.

"So this is your daughter? She's absolutely adorable!" Mia smiled. Trucy looked up at her, confused at the woman towering over her. Mia turned her face back to Phoenix.

"All the more reason to find Maya, don't you think?"

Phoenix stared blankly at his mentor for a moment. Nodding slowly, he turned toward the door and met the police at the main gate, leaving Maggey and Larry behind.

…

"Hey pal! Haven't seen you in awhile! What kind of trouble are you making this time?"

Detective Dick Gumshoe was waiting just outside the main gate, looking shabbier than usual. Phoenix grinned and shook his hand.

"Detective, how've you been? I hear you've been busy lately."

Gumshoe laughed proudly. "Yeah, Maggey's gonna have our first child in September! I'm gonna be a daddy, just like you! I wonder if they'll like the Blue Badger, 'cause I—"

"Detective, I appreciate your excitement for becoming a father, but right now Maya's in serious danger. Can you drive me to Heavenly Hall? I'll show you how things went down."

"Sure thing, pal." The two men got into Gumshoe's trashy old car and headed for the disaster site. On their way there, Phoenix's foot bumped against a small tube on the floor of the passenger seat. He picked it up.

"Um, Detective? What's this?"

"Oh, that's my road-side flare. The way my car is now, there's no way knowing when it'll just die on me."

"Uh huh…" Phoenix held onto the flare. He needed to think without it hitting his foot with every bump. Upon arriving at Heavenly Hall, Phoenix subconsciously pocketed the flare, still deep in thought.

"Whoa, this is pretty high up. Hey pal, what happened?"

Overhead, helicopters can be heard scouting the area. Bright beams from their lights fell across the forests around them, and Phoenix took his time answering the detective.

"Someone had taken the snowmobile and tried to run me down with it. Maya must've been hiding in the trees, 'cause suddenly she's shoving me out of the way and we were hanging off the cliff."

"Wow, a fall like this could kill a person, pal," Gumshoe said without thinking. Phoenix chose to ignore his comment. Gumshoe walked away from the cliff and examined the snowmobile tracks.

"It looks like whoever was riding it lost control of it at the last second," he observed. Phoenix was still deep in thought.

_Mia said that it would help if I was the one to find Maya, but with all the helicopters around, how'm I supposed to find her before they do? Unless..._

"Hey, is there any way to fall safely into the water?"

"What? Oh, well from what I've heard, the safest way is to fall with your arms down at your sides and your feet together."

"Is that so?" Phoenix took a running leap over the cliff and tucked his arms to his sides and squeezed his legs together. All Gumshoe could do was looked over the side of the cliff in awe at the stupidity of his friend.

…

"So, tell me, Trucy. What's it like having Phoenix for a daddy?"

Trucy was sitting across from Mia, who still inhabited Pearl's body. She poured Trucy some hot chocolate and then served herself.

"Um, Daddy's real nice. He can't cook, or clean, or do anything, but he does his best to keep me happy and he's always looking for a new mommy for me," she said, finally having calmed down from crying. "Can I ask you something? Daddy called you 'Mia' but you're in Auntie Pearl's body, so who are you?"

Mia stifled a laugh upon hearing the words 'Auntie Pearl' strung together. "I'm an old friend of your dad's, and right now, my spirit is borrowing Auntie Pearl's body so I can talk to you and everyone else."

"Wow, you're real pretty. Are you another Potential Mommy for me?"

Mia choked on Trucy's words. "Ah, no, that's impossible. I'm actually not alive anymore." _Not to mention how weird that would be if Phoenix dated both me and Maya, _she thought disgustedly.

"Oh, I see." Trucy frowned slightly, wondering if she would ever get a new mommy. "Um, Non-Potential Mommy Mia?"

"Yes?" _What is he teaching his kid to call people?_

"I remember Mommy Maya was talking about something, but I didn't really understand it, though. She and Daddy were talking about melons, and that Mommy Maya's wasn't very big. I didn't know that Mommy Maya grew fruit, but then she said that she was glad that they didn't grow so big because they would be bad after she turned thirty. But, I thought fruit goes bad after only a week..."

Mia almost spat out her hot chocolate all over Trucy. _Phoenix…Maya…don't talk about such topics around the children…for my sake_, she thought bitterly as she wiped her mouth. _Thank God that I died before I hit thirty…_

"Um, if Mommy Maya was growing fruit, I wonder if she'll let me eat some?"

"Trucy, sweetie, why don't you show me some magic tricks?" she asked nervously.

"Ooh, finally! Look, there's nothing in my hat…"

…

Phoenix's head broke the surface of the water. The water was as unrelenting as he remembered it to be. The cold stabbed at him just as fiercely as before, but that wasn't going to stop him. He immediately started shivering as he tried to swim with the current. How long he was supposed to swim, he didn't know. But with each passing second he knew that if he didn't endure this, then Maya would surely be lost.

The river's current slowed down to only a fraction of what it was after a few minutes. Phoenix struggled to keep his head above water while his body began to shut down from the cold. _How had Mia gotten through this? How did she pull herself out of the water and still find the strength to get to a tree?_

A small ways away from the river he saw a giant tree all by itself, or so he thought until he adjusted his eyes and saw a dark figure sitting against the thick trunk. He opened his mouth to call out to the figure, but ended up swallowing a mouth full of frosty water. He then found the same tree root his mentor used to hoist himself out of the water. He successfully climbed out and lay on the grass for a few moments, catching his breath.

_No, I can't waste any more time! Maya could be…_

More determined than ever, he rolled onto his stomach and stood up, shaking horribly from the bitter winter breeze. _Maybe I should've taken my sweatshirt back from Mia. But then again, I did leave her with Larry…_

He continued to watch the tree. As he got a little closer, he was able to get a clearer view of the figure.

"...Maya..." Phoenix groaned as he confirmed the dark figure to be her. He staggered toward her, shivering and breathing hard with each step. His knees buckled beneath him as soon as he reached her. Grabbing her shoulders, he gently shook her.

"Maya?"

No response. He took the flare from his pocket, gathered as much tree bark and dried leaves as he could and lit the flare, using it to start a small fire. He settled next to it, cradling Maya in his lap.

_What was Mia thinking? How're the helicopters supposed to find Maya if she's hidden under a tree?!_

Then he understood--Mia had planned all this.

Through the fire's glow he was able to see Maya's pale face clearly, her lips tinged with a deathly blue. Her skin was ice itself. He never realized it before, but Maya was actually quite small. Phoenix produced the Magatama from his pocket and placed it gently into her palm, closing her fingers around it with his own. His other hand supported her back as he gently kiss her forehead and rested his cheek on her head.

"I don't know if you can see them, but Bikini told me that I had two psyche-locks around my heart," he said as he held her close. "I should've told you from the beginning that I was struggling to choose between you and Iris. Today, after I dropped Trucy off at school, I told Iris how I felt about you, and she was really accepting of it. She said that our relationship was bound to happen and when she left, she called me 'Mr. Wright' instead of her usual 'Feenie.'"

The fire crackled merrily at Phoenix's words. Phoenix leaned back a little and pulled Maya closer.

"After I saw her, I began having doubts. I realized that I still had feelings for her in addition to my feelings for you. When Bikini started interviewing me with your Magatama, I was really scared. But then we got interrupted, and I was able to think over everything. I started out with the events after that case with Dahlia. After Iris was arrested, I wondered if maybe we could start over again. And this time, I can't confuse her with her sister. So, while I was waiting for her to finish her time in jail, I started to realize how I felt about you. How well we get along, and all those adventures we've had. And then we started dating. It seemed a bit unfair to Iris that you and I could spend so much time together while she was stuck in the detention center."

Just then a frosty breeze swept by, threatening the fire. Phoenix watched it for a bit until it returned to normal.

"It wasn't till just recently that I realized how much you mean to me. Remember the Matt Engarde case? Everyone in the court room hated me for defending Engarde when all the evidence clearly pointed to him. But all the while I thought about you. I was so scared that I was going to lose you. And not just then, but all those other times you were in trouble--being accused of murder, people threatening to kill you, I couldn't believe that people were so desperate to see you die. And now, looking at you, it feels like everyone's combined effort has led to this."

The fire had gotten really small at this time. He took the hand supporting Maya's back and threw some more tree bark and twigs at it. When he was satisfied with the fire's size he went to return his hand under her back when he saw it was coated with blood. He stared at his hand, then at Maya, then held her so her cheek was against his.

"Maya... you can't die yet. If you die now, everything everyone's done to save you was meaningless. Everyone that wanted you dead will win, and Morgan Fey's wish of Pearls becoming the new master will be fulfilled. But, even more important, Trucy won't get you for a mother, and... don't die, Maya..." He squeezed her tighter as tears flowed freely from his eyes. "You can't die because... I love you..."

...

Gumshoe returned to the Main Hall, still unable to believe that Phoenix willingly jumped into the river. As he entered the Main Hall, he overheard someone talking to a police officer.

"But officer, we're trying to tell you! Pearl was channeling a spirit that she didn't know was violent!" he heard Adrian say.

"Yes, but all in all, it was her that tried to run over Mr. Wright and Miss Fey. We're going to have to place her under arrest."


	5. Chapter 5

Franziska snapped her eyes open. Somewhere above her voices were arguing about something she couldn't quite grasp. She sat up, her mind a little fuzzy after being thrown into the Main Hall's altar. Gentle arms wrap themselves around her shoulders.

"Franziska, are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?"

"Unn… Adrian? What's going on? Where's my father?"

"He's gone, but he's left a whole mess of trouble behind."

Franziska turned around to look at her. "What do you mean?"

Adrian's eyes fell to the floor, her hands resting on her knees. "Not too long ago, Mr. Wright came back saying that he was at Heavenly Hall when someone tried to run him off the cliff using a snowmobile. Apparently, Maya was nearby and pushed Mr. Wright out of harm's way but the snowmobile clipped her back and she fell into Eagle River."

"Who was it driving the snowmobile?"

"Franziska… there is no one here alive that would want to hurt either of those two."

Franziska's eyes widened as she whispered one word. "…Papa..."

Franziska pulled her legs in and rested her chin on her knees. Adrian stroked her hair lovingly as she held onto her. The policeman that Adrian was talking to earlier cleared his throat to get their attention. Adrian pulled away from the broken woman and shot a spiteful look at the officer.

"You see? It was someone else that tried to kill Mr. Wright, not Pearl!"

"We've already gone through this, Miss Andrews. Pearl Fey—"

"Hey pal, how's it going?"

Gumshoe strode in before the argument got too heated. The policeman, Adrian and Franziska all stared at him, surprised at his sudden outburst. Nearby, Maggey and Larry were discussing what they saw with another officer when Maggey spotted Gumshoe.

"Dick! What're you doing here? How'd you get here so fast?" she asked as she welcomed him with a hug. Gumshoe grinned.

"Well, I missed you so much that I started driving here to see you. Then I got a call telling me to get here to investigate something, and here I am!"

"Wow, what a coincidence? Wait, where's Mr. Wright?"

"Actually, I took him to Heavenly Hall to check out the place and… how about we all just drive up there now while I explain?"

…

Phoenix wasn't feeling too good; his head felt like it was in a haze. He sneezed, making sure to turn his head away from Maya. The air around him seemed to get colder, and no matter how close he was to the fire, his body still struggled to get warm. Overhead helicopters shone their light through the thick masses of branches of the old tree. Phoenix lifted his head to look up at the rescue team. He could barely hear the blades of the propeller chopping up the wind above him, or the yells of the rescue team as they jumped out of the helicopter. Everything seemed to go in slow motion around him—he could practically see the individual blades of the helicopter as it spun around in place, and the rescue team seemed to take forever to reach them.

Phoenix was in a state of confusion at the world around him. He refused to let go of Maya as some of the team tried to put her on a stretcher. He was finally forced to let her go, her Magatama falling to the ground. Phoenix automatically picked it up before he was ushered into the helicopter after her. Even as he sat near Maya, he still didn't feel like everything going on around him was real. He wasn't aware that he was in a helicopter flying hundreds of feet above the ground. He barely even noticed that someone had draped a thick blanket over his shoulders. He looked out the window to try to make sense of everything when he saw the little flame all alone down on the ground. He couldn't help but feel like it was reaching up to him, begging him to stay with it.

…

Gumshoe couldn't bring himself to talk about what Phoenix had done, not especially in front of his daughter. Maggey was riding in the passenger seat while Larry, Trucy, and Mia shared the back. Adrian and Franziska went in the police car of the officer that was questioning them. They made sure not to drive over the snowmobile tracks as they arrived at Heavenly Hall. Everyone got out of the cars but didn't wander very far, in case they disturbed any evidence in the area.

"Okay, tell us what happened, pal," Gumshoe said, hoping he could leave Larry to explain everything.

"Wha, me? Okay, well, Maggey and I were on our way back from the Training Hall and we saw Nick at Heavenly Hall as we were crossing Dusky Bridge. We were talking a bit when we heard the snowmobile headed our way, so we started leaving when suddenly we see a mostly-naked old guy aiming the snowmobile at Nick. Then suddenly Maya pops out and shoves Nick out of the way, and they go flying over the cliff! Nick was able to grab onto the side but Maya fell. As for the old guy, we don't know where he went," Larry explained. The policeman smirked at him.

"Well, there you have it! It was an attempted—"

"OBJECTION!"

Mia slammed her palms down on the hood of Gumshoe's car. Everyone turned to look at her. Gumshoe let out a strangled squeak and the policeman shot her a malicious look.

"Larry… you said that the person riding the snowmobile was aiming it at Phoenix, right?" Mia asked sternly. Larry nodded.

"Um, well, yeah, I think so."

"If that's the case," she pointed a threatening finger at Larry, "Then why do the snowmobile tracks veer off to the right?!"

Everyone except Mia and the policeman ran over to the cliff, eyeing the tracks in the snow.

"Wow, she's right!"

"How true—"

"Hey pal, I saw that first!"

Mia held her hand up to her chin in thought. "If the rider really did intend to kill Phoenix, then why did they try to swerve away from him? Maybe it was because Pearl had managed to regain control of her body and tried to avoid hitting him!"

"Where's your proof?!" demanded the policeman, a grimace spreading on his face.

Mia thought for a moment, looking at all the evidence around her. "The imprints in the snow," she said slowly.

"Ha ha hah, what does that have to do with anything?!"

"Think about it, if Manfred von Karma was the one who was steering the snowmobile, when he jumped off before impact his body should have left a large imprint in the snow. But as you can see here," she walked over to where Pearl had been laying, "the imprint is far too small to be a grown man, but is the right size of a little girl. If he was in fact still controlling Pearl's body, why bother jumping off at all? What did it matter to him whether Pearl died or not? Mr. von Karma was already dead!"

"She has a point—"

"This cop is sick!"

"What a bad man—"

"Off with his head!"

Trucy pulled out Mr. Hat and made him bang his wooden fist on Gumshoe's car, Gumshoe's heart sinking as he saw his old car receive another harsh beating.

"Order, order!" she said as she moved Mr. Hat's mouth. The policeman continued to drag on his argument.

"So what if the snow's imprint was from the little girl?! Maybe his spirit left her body when he was in mid-jump and that's how the imprint got there!"

"But why would he bother jumping off? If he really wanted to kill Phoenix, he would've stayed on the snowmobile all the way until it collided with his target! He hated Phoenix, and he definitely hated Maya too! It was thanks to her that he was proven to be the murderer of an old case!"

"Well…um…"

CRACK!

Franziska held her whip taut, ready to strike at the policeman again. "It appears that the defense has you trapped. We need more testimony from the witnesses. Will Maggey Gumshoe please give her testimony?"

Maggey nodded and stepped in front of the passenger side of the car. Mia stood on the opposite side of the car where the engine was while Trucy and Mr. Hat shared the roof of the car. The policeman stood with his hands on the trunk, wondering what else there was to add to the situation.

"Okay, well, Larry and I were on our way back to Hazakura Temple after having a quick chat with Mr. Wright when we heard the snowmobile coming our way. I was blinded by the headlights of the snowmobile, but I heard a man call out Mr. Wright's name. After that, I remember I heard a scream, and then I saw Mr. Wright and Maya fall over the cliff. The snowmobile seemed to hit Maya, but as for the man, I don't know where he went."

"Non-Potential Mommy Mia, you may cross-examine the witness," Mr. Hat said. Mia gave the puppet an approving look before she began her questioning.

"So, you didn't see any man riding the snowmobile?" she asked.

"I didn't see anyone, but that's because the headlights blinded me."

"Okay, but you know you heard a man's voice?"

"Yes, without a doubt. It was a very deep voice with hatred in it."

"What about the scream? Do you know who it was?"

"Well, I'm sure that—"

"Objection! Your Honor, there were a number of people at the site, anyone could've screamed right then and there!" the policeman argued. Mr. Hat shook his head.

"Non-Potential Mommy Mia, is this relevant to the case at all?"

Mia couldn't believe what she was hearing—a policeman just referred to a puppet attached to a little girl as 'your Honor' and did it seriously. Still, she decided to just go along with it. "It is of utmost importance, your Honor."

"Okay, then please continue."

"Mrs. Gumshoe, please finish your statement."

"The scream I heard sounded high-pitched and shrill, like a little girl… Oh!" she cried out, realizing what the scream was. "That scream must've been—"

"Objection! What if Maya was the one that screamed? I'm sure she can scream like a little girl too!" the police interrupted.

"Overruled."

"Whaaat?! Oh come on, you're just a little girl!"

"And you're a big meanie! Why're you trying to put Auntie Pearl in jail?"

The others that had been quiet for awhile now started chattering again, coming up with their own theories as to why the policeman was being such a 'big meanie.'

"It appears that we cannot continue in this manner. The only way we can solve this is if we ask Mommy Maya herself whether she screamed or not. Court is adjourned!" Mr. Hat announced as he pounded his fist on the roof of Gumshoe's car again, Gumshoe now wiping a tear from his eye at the sight of his car's abuse. The policeman tromped off to his car, disappointed that he couldn't arrest anyone. Gumshoe looked painfully at his car when his cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Detective?"

"Hey pal! You're alive? Where are you? How are you able to call me?"

"Sniff I'm at the nearby hospital. I caught a cold and Maya's in the ICU."

"They found her? How is she?"

"Not too good. She's practically frozen, and I don't know how much blood she's lost. Can you guys come down here as soon as possible?"

"Sure thing, pal, we're on our way! We'll come as fast as we can!"

Click!

"Listen up, everyone!" Gumshoe announced. "Maya's been found! She and Mr. Wright are both at the hospital, so let's go see them!" Everyone cheered at the good news except for the policeman.

"Hmph. Well, we need her testimony, so I'll meet you all at the hospital," he said as he drove away.

"Yay, we're going to see Daddy!" Trucy cheered after she finished putting Mr. Hat away. She looked up at Mia and said, "You're real nice. No wonder Daddy made friends with you! You helped out Auntie Pearl!"

Mia shined a smile at her. "Well, she's not completely clear just yet. We still need Maya's testimony about whether she herself screamed or not. By the way, that was some good judging you did."

"Thanks! Daddy would always play 'Court Room Drama' with me, so that's how I learned Judginese!"

"Um, Judginese?"

"Judge talk."

"Oh I see. Oh, one sec…Detective, how are we going to see Maya if you only have one car?"

"We'll just have to cram most of you in the back," he said as a joke. Just then his cell phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Detective! It's bad. Maya's in desperate need of blood but the hospital ran out of her blood type! I'll try to see if mine's any good but just in case I need you and everyone else down here right now!"

"Okay pal, sit tight, we're coming as soon as possible!"

Click!

"Everyone, get in the car!" he boomed as he ran to the driver's seat. No one moved a muscle at his sudden shout. "I SAID GET IN THE CAR NOW!"

Maggey took the passenger seat while everyone else crammed into the back. Mia sat on the far right with Trucy on her lap while Larry was sandwiched between Franziska and Adrian. Once they were situated Gumshoe tore up the pathway and gave a fair warning that this was going to be the craziest ride any of them were ever going to experience.

…

Phoenix was battling a nurse on whether he was healthy enough to give Maya his blood or not.

"Sir, please understand, you have a fever and are in no condition to donate blood," the nurse said, her voice firm and her eye contact not breaking.

"I'll be fine, I swear! Maya needs blood and I'm here to give it!"

"Do you even know if you two are the same blood type?"

"I' m not sure, but each second you waste trying to convince me otherwise is taking Maya a step closer to death! Now take my blood, dammit!"

The nurse clenched her jaw and led Phoenix to the blood drawing station. She drew as much blood as was possible and took it to get tested. Phoenix was given some snacks and juice to help recuperate his energy. The only thing he was allowed to do was sit in the waiting room and think.

As he sat thinking, he hoped that his blood was good enough. He didn't know all the details except that she wasn't suffering from hypothermia thanks to Phoenix's fire, her shoulder was definitely dislocated and she lost a lot of blood from the river. _How long will it take for everyone to get here, _he wondered to himself, _I hope they get here soon._ Maya's Magatama was still clutched in his hand as he fed himself a cracker.

…

"Hey Detective! You didn't tell us what happened to Nick!"

Gumshoe's trashy car was flying down the mountain road, making impossible turns at daring speeds.

"Oh, uh, well Larry, he sort of jumped off the cliff to find Maya," he said as he gave his car more gas. No one had time to absorb this new information because they felt that jumping into a river from a cliff sounded less deadly than their mountain roller coaster ride. Everyone was holding onto each other for dear life, except for Trucy, who was enjoying the whole scene. With each sharp turn around a dangerous corner she laughed while everyone screamed in terror.

"Yay! Uncle Gummy's a great driver!" Trucy giggled happily. Everyone in the car stared at her with their mouths gaping open. Maggey pretended not to hear Trucy.

"At least tell us why we're in a hurry!"

"Maya's in the hospital but she needs a blood transfusion! But the hospital's out of her blood type! If we don't hurry—" tires and voices screeched around a tight corner, "—then she might not survive! Our only hope is Mr. Wright's blood, and we don't know if they're the same blood type!"

Just then yells from the back seat rang out.

"How dare you touch me!"

"I'm sorry, Frannie, but we're just crammed too tight in here!"

"I don't care! Get off me!"

"Hey, hands off!"

"It's not like I'm touching her for fun! She's the only thing to hang on to!"

"Get your own squeeze toy, whatever your name is!"

"It's Larry, and you must be Adrian! Anyone ever tell you how beau—"

CRACK!

"OW! How can you use your whip when there's no room, Frannie?!"

Mia sat on the far right side of the backseat, hanging onto a bouncing Trucy with one hand and the seatbelt with the other. She didn't scream but made faces when Gumshoe did his sharp turns, but other than that, she was too distracted trying to keep Trucy safe.

"Okay, but I have one question!" Maggey called over all the yelling.

"Yeah, pal?"

"How did you cram all of us into your car with all those police around and not get a ticket for it?!"

"Oh, well, I guess I have a special skill at sneaking away with things: evidence, people, and this time, a telephone pole won't get in the way of—"

Gumshoe missed the turn and flew off the cliff, a trail of screams falling behind the car.

…

Phoenix held his head in his hands. _How long had it been since the nurse went to get his blood tested? How long does it take to test out blood? Why hasn't there been any word on Maya's condition yet?_ Just then the nurse that drew his blood returned with the results.

"Mr. Wright? Sorry for the long wait. We've received the results of your blood and it's a match. They've given Miss Fey your blood already, and she's in stable condition. I'll take you to her room, if you like."

He whipped his head up, not caring how much his temple started throbbing afterward. The nurse let him down a hallway and into a room.

"She must mean a lot to you," she said with a hint of jealousy. Phoenix gave her a bashful smile.

"Yeah, she really does. Um, I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier."

"No, it's all right. A lot of people are like that when they have someone dear to them in such a state. Now, let me fill you in on a few things about her condition: she dislocated her right shoulder, but we were able to pop it back in. We managed to return her body temperature to normal, and the most that we had to worry about was her blood loss. But thanks to you, she should be all right. Unfortunately, the cut on her back will leave a scar."

He stood there in thought for a moment. _A scar? I guess that's my fault, since she did save me._

"Mr. Wright? Don't worry, just go on in and be with her. She's still unconscious, but I'm sure if she hears a familiar voice she'll wake up."

The nurse excused herself and left Phoenix alone by the doorway. He closed the door behind him and looked around the dimly lit room. There was a single bed in the middle with a heart monitor beeping rhythmically next to it. Then his eyes fell on Maya. Her right arm was in a sling while her left arm lay limp next to her side. Her face was a pasty pale white.

_At least her lips aren't blue, _Phoenix thought as he walked to her left side. He moved a chair closer to the bed and perched himself on it. He took her left hand in one of his and stroked her cheek with the other hand.

_And she's much warmer now, but I wonder how much of what I said to her actually reached her?_

"Heh heh… funny how Pearly tried her best to get us two together, and suddenly we end up dating anyway. Truthfully, it's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Phoenix jumped at the faint voice. "Maya! You're awake? How're you feeling?"

She smiled weakly at him, her eyes half closed. "Just tired, and my shoulder and my back hurts. You don't look too good yourself."

"Just a cold… with a fever… but I got medicine already, so no problem."

"That's good. How's everyone else?"

"Everyone's fine, it's you we're worried about! What were you thinking letting go of my ankle like that? And what's with what you said before you fell?!"

Maya looked away from him, tears forming in her eyes. "I… well, you shouldn't have been yelling out your thoughts like that!"

"What? You… you overheard that, huh?" he said, feeling a stab in his gut as he sat back down.

"The whole mountain did!" she yelled, trying to sit up but the pain was too much. "Of course I heard everything. And I didn't mean to let go of you, I just kinda… slipped."

"Well, what about what you said about 'not wanting to get between me and Iris?'"

"Well, you and her were together first, and she still had feelings for you, and you even seemed to take interest in her after she was arrested," she said bitterly. "But then, under the tree you said—"

"You heard everything I said there too?"

"Well, yeah, but I was too out of it to understand it all. I remember seeing some Psyche-locks, and then you said some things, and then you said… you loved me," she said the last three words as she turned her face back to his. "And then I remember the last lock broke after that. But why, though? Were you afraid to say you loved me?"

Phoenix gripped his knees tightly, ashamed at the truth of her words. "It wasn't that I was afraid of saying it, it was more like, I wanted to make sure I truly did have feelings to back it up." He stared hard into his knees, not wanting Maya to see his face. "I didn't want to say it unless I was absolutely sure I was over Iris."

Maya reached over and rubbed his shoulder tenderly. Without looking at her, he placed his hand over hers. "I knew I could say it to you then, because there's no one else I'd rather jump into a treacherous river from a high cliff during winter for."

Maya gasped. "You did what?! Are you crazy?! What's the matter with you?!" She slapped him upside the head, and Phoenix broke into a smile.

"It's true. It was the only way I could find you before the rescue teams did."

"But, that's so stupid! What if you got killed?!"

She threw her arm back to hit him again, but he caught it in his hands easily. "I wanted to make sure you knew how I felt about you before they took you away. What if you died before I got to see you again? We might've used up all our luck on the last few times you were in trouble!"

Her arm relaxed as she intertwined her fingers into his. "Alright, I'll give you that, but for taking such a big risk, I want a nice big burger with a pile of fries next to it when I get out of here… unless you can sneak it in for me," she said with a smile.

"Sure thing. What—"

"Actually, change that. How about a nice, juicy steak?"

"How can you think about food when I've just told you how much I love you?!"

She smiled bashfully. "Ah, well, you know, falling off of cliffs and almost drowning in rivers makes a girl hungry, I guess," Maya said as she looked away, her cheeks burning a bright red. Suddenly she heard laughter next to her.

"Hey, what's so funny?" she asked as she slightly lifted her head off her pillow.

"It's just that, you make near-death experiences sound like common sports," he answered, still getting out a few more laughs. Maya fell back into her bed, smiling at her own little joke. Phoenix finally calmed down when he suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, when I first got to Hazakura Temple, Bikini wanted to interview me for something."

"Yeah, so what?"

"She said that it was 'tradition' you guys have where you interview a person trying to marry into the Fey family using the Magatama. I never said anything about marrying you. What was that about?" Phoenix asked. Maya thought for a moment then realized what he was talking about.

"Oh… now I remember. Um, you know the Magatama I gave you when I was accused of murder for the second time?"

"Yeah, it's just a tool you gave me to find out if a person was lying, right?"

"Yeah, kinda, but in my family, when we give away the Magatama, it's like a marriage proposal."

Phoenix's fingers froze in her hand. "Marriage? You mean, you practically proposed to me two years ago?"

"Yeah, but I was giving it to you to find out people's secrets! At the time, marriage was the last thing on my mind!"

Phoenix ran his free hand over his beanie. "I guess so, but… how far is it now on the list of things on your mind?"

It was Maya's fingers' turn to freeze. "Well… it's not last anymore, that's for sure… but, how would this work? You've got your agency, and I'm master of the channeling school!"

"And there aren't any schools around your village for Trucy to attend… wait, are we seriously considering all this?"

Maya started moving her fingers again, only this time it was out of nervousness. "I was just thinking, my proposal's still up, even after two years," she said, her cheeks turning red again. Phoenix simply sat in the chair, his hand still holding onto hers. He sighed heavily.

"Well, how about this: you move in with me and Trucy, and whenever you have students to train, or clients to handle, just set up a meeting with them the next day." Maya's eyes lit up.

"You mean, you…?"

Phoenix took the Magatama out of his pocket and held it up for her to see. "Maya, I—"

The door burst open and a whole mess of people tumbled in. Phoenix and Maya stared at the group invasion for a moment when they realized who they were.

"Hey pal, sorry we're late!" Gumshoe said, his forehead bleeding.

"Late for what? You're bleeding!" Maya pointed out. When everyone heard Maya's voice, they were so relieved that they started yelling nonsensical nonsense.

"Detective, what happened? Why is everyone so banged up?" Phoenix asked over the noise. Trucy was the one that answered him.

"Daddy! It was amazing! We flew right off a cliff, and then a big tree caught us, and then let us down from its branches so we could give blood to Mommy Maya!" she exclaimed. Phoenix couldn't believe that everyone in room survived falling off a cliff at least once. Adrian popped out from behind the crowd and bowed deeply to Maya.

"Maya! I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! If it weren't for me asking Pearl to channel Franziska's father you wouldn't have had to suffer!" she cried, worry and panic coating her face. Franziska appeared before her and raised Adrian's face to her own.

"Foolish fool who foolishly thinks foolish thoughts about her foolish self! You didn't know my father would behave in such a manner, and I didn't have to agree so easily to see him! Stand up and accept that none of this is your fault!" Adrian stared back into Franziska's eyes and complied. The other woman put her weapon away and straightened up with the blonde.

"Alright then, now—" Franziska started, but was cut off by Adrian latching onto her.

"Franziska! I'm sorry! Because of me you had to—"

Larry rushed forward and ushered the two women away, Adrian still wailing loudly. A nurse overheard the noise and rushed to the room.

"Excuse me! There are _way_ too many people in here, and you're making too much noise!" she said over the noise. Everyone quieted down to listen to her. "Good. Now, I'll allow only two people at a time, so everyone else please—"

"HOLD IT!"

The policeman from the investigation charged into the room, gasping for breath. Everyone gave him a dirty look. After a few more deep breaths, he straightened up and adjusted his uniform.

"Before you all leave, I have one question to ask the patient," he said as he pushed his way through the room. He looked at Maya and said, "Before you fell over the cliff, did you scream?"

Maya thought this was a very strange question. "No, I didn't. Why?"

Once again, the room burst out cheering, the policeman defeated. Trucy pulled out Mr. Hat once more, making him say, "I now pronounce Auntie Pearl… not a suspect."

At this point, the nurse was furious with everyone and started shoving them though the door. Only Mia and Phoenix remained with Maya.

"Good, it seems like you found her in time," Mia congratulated him. Maya stared at her.

"Sis! What was with that question just now? And why are you wearing Nick's sweatshirt?"

"Oh, it's a long story. So, let me just do one thing—"

SMACK!

Phoenix was rubbing a bright red handprint on his cheek where Mia had hit him.

"OW! What was that for?!"

"You jumped off a cliff to find her?! What's wrong with you?! When I said to find her, I meant that you take the detective's car and follow the river!"

"Either way, I'm still alive and so is she!"

"That's not the point! Honestly, you still find answers in the strangest way possible… oh, what's this?" Mia said as she spotted the Magatama in Phoenix's hand. "Maya… is that…?"

Maya grinned at her. "I don't know yet, Sis, he didn't give me a direct answer,' she said as she looked up at Phoenix. "What do you say, Nick? Wanna give marriage a shot?"

He looked at the little glowing stone in his hand and smiled. He stood up and leaned down close to Maya's face.

"Yes… I do," he said as he kissed her. Mia turned to leave the room.

_Looks like I got my wish,_ she thought as she left through the door. _Everything turned out right after all._

…

…Sixteen Months Later…

Four months after the incident, Phoenix and Maya got married. Trucy gained a new mommy and Pearl became an auntie (despite her objections). Since then, Maya and Pearl have moved in with Phoenix and Trucy into their two-bedroom apartment. Trucy was happy to share her room with Pearl, and Phoenix was ecstatic sharing his room with Maya. The two little girls also attend the same school, and as predicted, Trucy does call Pearl 'Auntie' across the halls when recess time comes. Since discovering that Phoenix did in fact have no spectacular talents to use to earn money, Maya decided to turn him into the house husband she so desired.

Phoenix was scrubbing the toilet one Friday afternoon while Maya was dusting a lamp with her eyes glued to the television. Phoenix shook his head with a smile at her way of cleaning. He squirted some toilet cleaner into the toilet and continued scrubbing, when he remembered something.

"Hey Maya, what do you feel like doing for our anniversary?" he asked. Maya didn't respond immediately because she was deep in thought about a commercial that just came up.

"It doesn't make sense. Why's her head so huge and her name's 'Minnie' Mouse?" she wondered aloud as she continued staring at the screen. The rag she was using wasn't even touching the lamp anymore. Phoenix laughed quietly to himself. _My wife's so cute._

"Maya, you're missing the la—"

"How is a giant mouse more popular than ninjas or samurai? It doesn't make sense!" she continued to think aloud. Then a thought struck her.

"Hey Nick! Do you know what tomorrow is?"

"Um, our anniversary?"

"That's right! And do you know what we should do for our first anniversary?"

Phoenix pulled a face, pretending he was thinking really hard. Just then the front door opened and Trucy ran straight to Maya.

"Mommy! I'm home!" she announced as she hugged Maya. Maya returned the hug.

"Hello Trucy! Welcome home!" she said, glad to take a break from cleaning. As Trucy ran to hug Phoenix, Pearl came through the door.

"Mystic Maya! Papa Nick! I'm home!" she called as she went to hug Maya. Maya also hugged her.

"Pearly, Nick's not your papa!"

"I know, but I just wanted to try it once."

Phoenix released Trucy from his hug and let her put her school bag down in her room. "I don't mind one bit. Now gimme my hug, Pearls," he said with a huge grin. Pearl ran to him and hugged him happily.

"Yay, it's like I have a daddy, too!" she said. Trucy poked her head out of her room.

"I'll share Daddy with you, but I still get to call you 'Auntie!'"

"No way!" Pearl cried as let go of Phoenix. She chased Trucy throughout the apartment while Phoenix and Maya continued their conversation.

"Anyway Nick, where do you think we should go for our first anniversary?" she called over the two girls' squabble.

"Kurain Village?"

"No! Nick, it's not that time of the month yet!"

Maya and Pearl visit Kurain Village once a month, mainly to check up on things. The village elders take care of new students that arrive for basic training, and Maya comes to watch over everything. She gets a call from the village if a client wants a spirit channeled, and usually by the next day Maya meets with them.

"Nick, I'm talking about Disneyland! We gotta see why Minnie's head's so big!"

The two little girls fell into a deep hush. After a few moments, their faces lit so brightly it was blinding Phoenix. They ran over to Phoenix and stared up into his face.

"Daddy! Please? Can we go?"

"Please Papa Nick! Let's go!"

Phoenix was at a loss for words. When he didn't say anything the two each grabbed onto one of his legs.

"Hey! Don't do that! Let go!"

"Please Daddy?"

"Please, Papa Nick?"

He tried walking to get them to let go, but to no avail. Maya started laughing at the situation.

"Aw, come on, Nick, why not? Hey, no, not here!" Maya cried as Phoenix fell on top of her. The family hit the ground laughing, not even feeling any pain from the floor.

"Okay, we'll go to Disneyland," Phoenix announced. The three girls cheered.

"Alright! And we can invite Uncle Gummy, and Auntie Maggey, and Uncle Larry, and—"

Maya got up and brushed herself off. "Yeah, let's invite everyone!"

"Okay, but you call them. I still have to finish scrubbing the toilet."

…

The next day they rode with Phoenix's old friend, Miles Edgeworth to Disneyland. Edgeworth is still a prosecutor, but admits that it's not as exciting as when Phoenix was the defense attorney he was up against. They arrived at Disneyland and were greeted by their friends.

"Hey pal, you're late!"

"Sorry to keep you all waiting!" Phoenix called.

Dick and Maggey now have their first son and are expecting a second child in the near future. Dick likes to shower his son with everything Blue Badger, and Maggey's just fine with that. Maggey has since then written a book about how her life story and the bad luck curse of hers. The book sold rather well.

Next to the Gumshoes were Adrian and Franziska. Since the incident, Franziska has left behind everything that ties her to her father in Germany and moved in with Adrian. Franziska is still a prosecutor, though a perfect record of guilty sentences are still somewhat important to her. Adrian has learned to use a whip almost as well as her foreign lover and still writes her trashy love novels. The two are very happy together.

"Yo, Nick! How've you been?" Larry asked as he shook Phoenix's hand.

Larry now works at Hazakura Temple, where he does maintenance work. Every now and then he'll visit Franziska to try to convince her to let him make a storybook cover using her figure. Adrian sometimes takes out the whip to practice on Larry.

"I've been pretty good, Larry," he answered, and his eyes fell on someone he hadn't seen in a long time. Iris looked at him shyly.

"Hello, Feenie," she said softly. Phoenix smiled at her and gave her a hug.

Iris had been released from prison a few months previously and still works at Hazakura Temple. Once in awhile Larry badgers her to go on a date with him, but she still refuses. She has no hard feelings towards Phoenix or Maya whatsoever. In fact, she really is happy the two got together.

"Iris! Haven't seen you in awhile!"

"Papa Nick! How could you?!"

SMACK! SMACK-SMACK!

Pearl was launching a full assault of slaps onto Phoenix's face.

"Papa Nick, you already have a lover!"

"Pearls! It's just a greeting hug!"

Maya was laughing at the attack when something caught her eye. A giant mouse in a pink dress was skipping around, greeting passersby. Maya couldn't help but drift toward the giant mouse.

Pearl was still teaching Phoenix a lesson when Trucy tugged on her sleeve.

"Not now, Miss Trucy! I'm busy!"

"But look at Mommy!"

Pearl stopped slapping Phoenix long enough to spot Maya getting hugged by the giant mouse. Pearl screamed.

"Mystic Maya's getting attacked by that monster! Come on, Miss Trucy! We have to save her!"

Trucy let out a war cry and followed Pearl to the so called 'monster.' Phoenix's group of friends stared on happily, some taking pictures along with other people watching. Shaking his head, Phoenix ran toward the poor creature to pry off the two little girls.

"Pearls, Trucy, stop it! It's not a monster! Leave Minnie alone! We'll get kicked out!"

"Not now, Papa Nick! Your wife's in danger!"

"Take this! Mr. Hat and Trucy combo attack!"

"Nick… Nick! Security's on their way! RUN!"

…

The group managed to escape security, and Phoenix knew that this day was going to be more exciting than what he had planned. They decided to warm up with 'It's a Small World' since Maggey wouldn't be able to ride any of the other rides with her pregnancy. As they got into the small gondola, Edgeworth sensed something interesting was going to happen.

"Ugh, this overload of happy-sweetness is enough to choke a person," Franziska murmured. Adrian picked up on her words.

"Well, it's Disneyland, after all. Supposedly the happiest place on Earth," she explained. Her foreign lover snorted.

"Hmph. I'll let that one slide," she said as she looked around the ride. Then one particular doll caught her attention. It had white hair and something wrong with its smile.

"Papa! You will pay for all the damage you've done!" she shrieked as she took out her whip to attack it. Adrian leapt up in surprise and tried to stop her before the gondola tipped over. Edgeworth remained seated calmly behind the two, tsk-tsking the rest of the ride. Luckily, neither of the two women got in trouble, thanks to some convincing from Franziska.

…

"Let's ride the tea cups next!" Maya and Larry cheered together. They each took Edgeworth's arms and ran to the ride, but made sure to wait for everyone else. Once they caught up, they forced Edgeworth into a teacup, his cool attitude melting away as the ride started up. Phoenix shared a cup with Trucy, Pearl, and Iris but kept his eyes on Maya's cup.

_Poor Edgeworth,_ he thought to himself as he watched their cup's spin faster and faster. Maya and Larry were giggling out of control while Edgeworth tried to keep his cool. Pearl and Trucy were watching too, and they decided to try to spin the cup as fast as possible, too. It wasn't nearly as fast, but it was enough to force Phoenix to slide next to Iris. Pearl saw this and immediately started her barrage of slaps again. By the end of the ride, both Phoenix and Edgeworth had something wrong with their faces: Edgeworth's eyes were bugging out and Phoenix's cheeks were swollen from Pearl's palms.

…

Next up was Splash Mountain. Iris decided to sit this one out, still a little dizzy from the teacups. Adrian forced Franziska to ride, trying to get her to enjoy the outing while the Gumshoes stayed behind to watch. They didn't seem to mind, they just liked being out and around friends and each other. Maggey took the opportunity to buy her son a Mouseketeer hat, and Gumshoe was delighted with his son's adorable look.

"I call front!" Maya called, beating Larry out by a half a second. Phoenix sat behind her and Trucy and Pearl sat behind him. Franziska wasn't too happy sharing the log with Larry.

When they reached the top of the waterfall, Maya had a 'brilliant' idea. As the log began the descent, she stood up, pumped her fists in the air, and shouted, "I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!" Phoenix grabbed her waist just in time, and Franziska wrapped her whip around Maya for reinforcement. After the ride, Maya bought a copy of their picture that was taken at the end of the ride.

"Wow Nick, look at your face!" Maya giggled behind her hand.

"Well, if you hadn't stood up like that, my face would've looked better," he explained, still a little stunned at his wife's stunt. "And if it hadn't been for Franziska, you probably would've fallen."

"Oh yeah! Thanks, Franziska!" she called to her second rescuer. Franziska had a smug look on her face.

"So, all your attention was on Maya, and not me?" Adrian said with a saddened look on her face. "What if while you were focused on her, I had fallen?"

Franziska's face became filled with panic. "No, I was, um… but you were holding onto me, it's wasn't like—"

"Franziska, what if I had lost my grip and you had your hands full?"

Larry butted in. "Then I would've grabbed onto you!"

CRACK!

Larry found himself on the receiving end of the whip while Adrian looked on.

"Sigh… well that joke's over," she said to herself as Maya tugged on Phoenix's wrist.

"C'mon, Nick! Space Mountain's next!"

…

Evening came at last, meaning it was time for the fireworks. Everyone settled on a decent spot while the crowds grew larger. Trucy was hopping up and down, unable to get a good view.

"I can't see!" she cried, and Phoenix put her on his shoulders. Larry put Pearl on his own shoulders, allowing her to see as well. Maya looked at Gumshoe expectantly.

"No way, pal, you're tall enough," he said. Maya puffed her cheeks out in dismay and stood next to Phoenix instead. Franziska and Adrian stood next to each other, hand in hand, while Iris stood next to Edgeworth, wondering what type of person he was. Maya looked at Maggey, who was carrying her son.

"Hey Maggey, aren't you tired? Do you want me to hold him for a bit?" she offered as the fireworks started.

"Really? You don't mind?" Maggey asked as she passed him to Maya. Maya cradled him gently in her arms while Phoenix watched, Trucy and Pearl ooh-ing and ah-ing at the fireworks.

"Hey Nick? I've been thinking that I want one of these," she told him.

"Really? Alright then, we'll make one of our own," he answered.

"Yay, I'm gonna have a baby!" she cheered as she turned her head back to the display in the sky. Without taking her eyes off the fireworks, she said to Phoenix, "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"How _do_ we make one of these?"

"You mean they don't teach you that in the village?!"

The End

Author's Note: Thank you for reading my fanfic. I also would like to thank those of you who suggested for me to continue the oneshot and turn it into a full-blown story. I've never written a romance story before, and this was a nice challenge.

The hardest part was definitely Phoenix's monologue in chapter 4. I had to revise so many times that I was getting sick of it. But all in all, it was very fun. I hope I managed to keep everyone in character, I had to replay the first three games to be sure I got their speech down.

Anyway, thank you very much for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Phoenix Wright. Phoenix Wright and all other characters belong to Capcom. I also do not own anything Disney-related. Obviously, that's all Disney.


End file.
